"Be Not Ye Therefore Like Unto Them” (2 Of 4)

Generally, one of the ways you can tell a LIBERAL CHURCH from a CONSERVATIVE CHURCH is THE APPROACH they take in caring for people. Liberal churches often are only concerned about the PHYSICAL needs of the people. For example:

Illus: They will send missionaries abroad to:

-Teach lost people how to plant corn.

-Teach lost people how to install wells for drinking water.

-Provide “soup lines” to feed the people.

Then they will video tape all these good things they have done and bring the videos back to show the people who are providing the money for these things what they have done. Everyone views the videos and leaves feeling they are doing everything God would have them do.

The truth is, they are doing only part of what God would have them to do. In a sense they are really doing about the same thing many hog farmers do.

Illus: Hog farmers build stalls to place pigs in. Then they put a pig in each stall. Then they pour the feed to them for a set period of time. The poor pig eats all those goodies thinking all the time, “This old farmer certainly is good to me.” What the pig does not know is that the old farmer is fattening him up all right; but the reason he is fattening him up is to be slaughtered.

God did not place the church here to “fatten” sinners up for a Christ-less eternity.

On the other hand, many CONSERVATIVE CHURCHES take a complete opposite approach. They feel the Lord placed the church here to assist ONLY in spiritual matters. IF IT DOES NOT RELATE TO THE SPIRITUAL PART OF MAN, THEY DO NOT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!

These are the two APPROACHES that the LIBERAL and CONSERVATIVE churches take.

The Lord Jesus took the right approach. He is our example in all things. He had a perfect balance in His ministry in dealing with mankind.

For example, in some passages of scripture we see He dealt with the PHYSICAL needs of people, and in other passages we see He dealt with the SPIRITUAL needs of the people.

Jesus’ words in our text express His strong concern with the SPIRITUAL needs of His disciples. He warned His disciples about TWO practices that hypocrites often use to get attention.

He let the disciples know those who did these things just to gain attention were the BIGGEST PHONIES who ever lived.

If you look up the word “phony” you will find a “phony,” is: “Not SINCERE or GENUINE.” A phony pretends to be something he is not. ACTORS and ACTRESSES that you see on the screen or in theater pretend to be something they are not. There is a real danger in living a pretense.

For example, have you ever watched a reporter interview an actress or actor? Often you find those folks do not only act on the big screen, they put on an act twenty-four hours a day. They have pretended to be something they are not for so long that they actually think they are the heroes they pretend to be in the parts they play in the movies.

They have egos bigger than the screens they play on.

Why do you think the divorce rate is so high among the Hollywood crowd? Could it be that once they marry each other they discover that they both are phonies and they cannot stand to live with each other?

Listen, no one likes a “phony”! The Lord does not like one either. This is why, in our text, we see He warned them, and us, “BE NOT YE THEREFORE LIKE UNTO THEM...” He does not want us to be like them in...

I. THEIR PHONY PRAYERS.

Look at Matthew 6:5-8. We read, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

In these verses we see THREE things. First we see...

A. Something He assumed.

Verse 5 mentions the first thing the Lord ASSUMED His disciples would do. He said, “And WHEN thou PRAYEST...” We would think that we could safely assume that a genuine Christian will pray. However, not only will a genuine Christian pray, so will hypocrites, like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day. We have to commend them for doing it, even though they did do it for the wrong reason.